Recipe Idea: Pancakes

Mmmm.....pancakes.   Who doesn't love pancakes?  Plate-sized or silver dollar, light and fluffy or dense and chewy, the perfect pancake means different things to different people, but one thing we agree on at Little Griddle is that all pancakes taste better from a griddle, and especially when enjoyed outdoors.  With a holiday weekend almost upon us, we decided that it was time to present this classic breakfast dish. There are many, many great pancake recipes! There are recipes with traditional proportions, recipes with an extra egg, and gluten-free blender pancakes with ground rice.  Thin it out and you have crepes; make buckwheat pancakes and you are fortified for the day.  All are equally wonderful on a stainless steel Little Griddle brand outdoor griddle. Regardless of recipe, perhaps the best part of pancakes on the griddle is that you can make them as large or as small as you like, because they are not crowded together as they would be in a pan.  If you want to make one enormous pancake, pour butter and syrup in the middle, roll it up and cut it into pinwheels - well, you can do that on a griddle. If you like a favorite pancake mix, by all means rip off the top, follow the directions, and have at it.  If you want to try something from scratch, here is a basic starter recipe that we really like: Ingredients:

• 1 C. All-Purpose Flour (sift it, level it, do whatever you feel like.  Some people think it makes a difference; in this recipe, we don't.  If it's too thick, add milk.  If it's too thin, add flour.  Pancakes are forgiving).
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2 Tb sugar (regular refined is fine, we really prefer brown sugar though).
• 1 C. Milk
• 2 Tb melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract, lemon extract, orange extract, etc.  Have some fun with this).
• Cooking oil (Canola is great, but we also like rice bran oil and grape seed oil on the griddle)

To make pancakes: Light your grill, and then place your Little Griddle griddle on the grill to pre-heat. For this recipe we recommend pre-heating to a medium-low heat - if the heat is too high, the outside of the pancakes will burn before the inside can cook. While the griddle is pre-heating, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl.  In another bowl, combine milk, egg, oil or butter, and any flavoring additions such as vanilla extract.  Pour wet mixture over dry mixture, and combine with a whisk or spoon.  Don't over-mix!  Just work it together and let it sit for a few minutes while you organize your grill workspace. Once your batter is assembled, bring your bowl of batter to your grill, along with a stainless steel spatula.  Lightly oil your griddle with cooking oil, and spoon batter onto the griddle.  Cook your pancakes over medium-low heat until they are ready to flip.  They will be ready to flip when bubbles appear on the surface of the uncooked side - just like in the picture below: Flip your pancakes, and continue cooking until both sides are golden-brown.  Pancakes will cook more quickly and evenly with the lid closed between flips.  Serve with butter and your syrup of choice. Variations: You cannot go wrong by putting blueberries, cut-up strawberries, or diced banana into your pancake batter before cooking.  Chocolate chips or chunks are great, but they can burn if they cook for too long, so keep the heat low with this option. Pecan pieces cooked inside pancakes dusted with powdered sugar are sublime. Finally, for something really fantastic, make some good quality bacon on the griddle before cooking your pancakes.  When it is crisp, remove it from the griddle, drain on paper towels, and then crumble it into your pancake batter.  Cook the pancakes in the reserved bacon fat on the griddle -  delicious!  This tastes even better when you realize that by cooking it on a Little Griddle griddle, you haven't made a huge mess of your kitchen!  Happy 4th everyone!